This is unequivocally a good thing. The Mets did not have a GCL team in 2012, and instead made due with Kingsport, in teh Appalachian League as their lowest-level domestic affiliate. Kingsport, suffered for it, finishing at 23-43, the second-worst record in the Appalachian League. More importantly, the players struggled. First year guys straight out of high school who were drafted in 2012 and players in their first year stateside after playing in the Dominican and Venezuela were jumped to Kingsport.

The new collective bargaining agreement moved the deadline for players and teams to sign from August 15 to July 15, so more American guys will sign and play in the year they are drafted. Now, the high schoolers will have an appropriate team to play for. Also, with the high-ceiling high school guys playing in the GCL, there will now be more playing time for the more developed collegians, who might turn into org pieces in the Appy League.

This was about correcting a mistake. Criticize the mistake (cutting the GCL team in 2012) if you would like, but make sure to recognize that the Mets have admitted their error and applaud that they fixed the problem for 2013.